MIS Course Descriptions

Theology of Mission: A Canonical Approach:

This class is an introduction to and the practice of biblical theology through a missional hermeneutic. Students will approach the whole canon of Scripture to discover an integrated view of God’s revealed activity in reconciling all things to himself through Christ.

Urban Missions and the Asian Context:

Over half of the world’s population lives in cities. As such, cities are a priority in missions. Emphasizing the Asian context, this course seeks to develop an understanding of cities, urban trends, and how students can engage cities with the gospel.

Christianity and Other Faiths:

Combining theory and practice this class first seeks to guide students toward an “insider’s” view of some the world’s major religions before attempting to engage them from a Christian perspective. This approach to interreligious discussion will help students realize ways they might both learn from and reasonably approach the beliefs and practices of other religious communities.

Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics:

This class is an introduction to the issues related to doing biblical interpretation in an intercultural context. Students consider how culture and worldview affects the process of biblical interpretation. Students will also evaluate proposals that have been made for cross-cultural interpretation, and attempt to develop a process that can be implement for training those of different cultural contexts.

Contemporary Issues in Missions:

This course addresses a range of issues and challenges that are currently being encountered in the practice of Christian mission today. Biblical and current missiological thinking is applied to understand topics such as mission and development, globalization and post-colonialism, environmental issues, peace and conflict, just missions and insider movements.

Cross-Cultural Church Planting and the Asian Context:

In any missions endeavor, Christians want to leave behind vibrant and multiplying churches. Church planting is at the core of what mission is about. This course looks at the theory, theology, and methods of starting new churches with special emphasis on the Asian context. Thus this class includes an evaluation of certain missions strategies of the past and today in light of Asian concerns.

Worship: Biblical and Contextual Perspectives:

This course is an introduction to the biblical, theological, and local contextual study of Christian worship. Grounded in a biblical understanding of worship in the Old and New Testaments, this class will examine worship using relevant contextual expressions.

Spiritual Formation:

Being a seminary student is a form of academic discipleship. As such, it is essential that students do not attempt to study and learn in their own power, turning to God in prayer and Scripture reading only when things get too difficult. This course will help students learn how to turn their academic studies into a process of spiritual formation.

Guided Cross-Cultural Missions Practicum:

Students earns two credits for their missions related ministry while receiving guidance and feedback from a lecturer. This requirement can be completed through participation with a church missions team, a short-term mission trip, internship with a local mission organization, or report on current missions activities. Student’s can complete this requirement anytime during their studies.

Peace Building and Conflict Management:

Conflict is not bad. Faithfulness to Christ requires our engagement in some struggles, but maturity in Christ dictates the manner in which peace is to be sought and conflict is to be navigated. In this class we seek a biblical view of peace and conflict, a theologically grounded way of thinking about the role of the Church in Peace Building, and a practical introduction to the academic literature on this discipline that can inform mission planning.

Interfaith Relations and Community Transformation:

We abide in an interfaith world. Many of us interact daily with persons from multiple faith traditions, and this adds both expectancy and urgency for theological reflection upon the distinctive elements of Christian witness and enquiry upon the transformative nature of our work. In this class we explore the interplay of proclamation and holistic community development through Scripture, church history, and contemporary case studies in search for ways to help students integrate these elements into their respective communities and ministries.